Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) joined the growing Republican concern about the Federal Reserve's efforts to buy back $600 billion in Treasury bonds, but pinned the blame on President Obama's policies, which he claimed are stifling economic growth.

"I share my colleagues’ concerns about the risks associated with the Fed’s actions," the ranking minority member of the Senate Banking Committee said. "However, we should not lose sight of the larger dynamic that is playing out....The bottom line is that the Fed is attempting to spur job growth because the Obama Administration has done so much to inhibit it."

Shelby's comments came after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke briefed members of the Banking Committee on the second quantitative easing effort.

The Obama administration supported the Fed's second quantitative easing effort, but several Republicans have criticized it, saying it would devalue the dollar and lead to inflation.

Earlier this week, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) announced they would introduce legislation that would remove the statutory requirement that the Fed take steps to maximize employment, and instead have it focus solely on keeping prices stable.

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